Evidence of Iron Age bloomery smelting from Olomouc-Neředín

Abstract

Among the little-investigated specialised production in Moravian Iron Age are activities related to iron metallurgy. Together with La Tène pottery, more than 80 kg of slag, fragments of ore and a large amount of heat-affected clay was found at Olomouc-Neředín, however, it was not possible to link their occurrence with production installations. Lahn-Dill-type ore was mainly processed, which had to be transported from a distance of 20–25 km. Radiocarbon dating of carbonised wood that came from slag points to the beginning of the Hallstatt period; it can however be assumed that production took place in the Late Hallstatt period or, rather, Early La Tène, and that the ‘old-wood’effect was reflected in the radiocarbon dating. Due to extensive deforestation of the landscape around Olomouc in later prehistoric times, the function of a supply area for wood coal from the vicinity of 15–20 km is under consideration. Finds of slag from Olomouc-Neředín are the earliest documented traces of bloomery smelting in Moravia.